1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to voice over IP (VoIP) calls, and particularly to a method for automatic language negotiation over VoIP.
2. Description of Background
The Internet spans the whole world and one may find a place to connect to the Internet at just about every location in the world. Today many websites are audio enabled. Voice over IP (Internet Protocol) uses an IP protocol to send audio between one or more computers in real time, so that users may converse.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows a user to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Some services using VoIP may only allow a user to call other people using the same service, but others may allow a user to call anyone who has a telephone number including local, long distance, mobile, and international numbers. Also, while some services only work over a PC (Personal Computer) or a special VoIP phone, other services allow a user to use a traditional phone through an adaptor.
Basically, VoIP allows users to make telephone calls by logging onto a computer network, over a data network like the Internet. VoIP converts voice signals from a user's telephone into a digital signal that travels over the Internet and then converts the digital signal back at the other end so that the user is capable of speaking to any other user with a regular phone number. When a user places a VoIP call by using a phone with an adapter, the user hears a dial tone and dials in a regular manner just as the user always has. VoIP may also allow the user to make calls directly from a computer using a conventional telephone or a microphone.
In particular, depending on the service available, one way to place a VoIP call is to pick up a phone and dial the number by using an adaptor that connects to an existing high-speed Internet connection. The call goes through a local telephone company to a VoIP provider. The phone call goes over the Internet to the called party's local telephone company for the completion of the call. Another way is to utilize a microphone headset plugged into a computer. The number is placed using the keyboard and is routed through a cable modem. Therefore, a broadband (high speed Internet) connection is required. This can be through a cable modem, or high speed services such as DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or a local area network (LAN). The user may hook up an inexpensive microphone to a computer and send voice data through a cable modem or connect a phone directly to a telephone adaptor.
With the increasing popularity and stability of VoIP, many applications are now integrating VoIP for advanced collaboration or communication between users around the world. In fact, with collaboration increasing worldwide, people are often lead to communicate with someone they do not even know prior to starting the communication.
With instant messaging, it has been widely accepted that English is a preferred way of communicating. Nowadays, many people around the world can adequately write and read English. However, it appears that many people around the world lack proper or sufficient English speaking abilities. Therefore, when two parties start instant messaging each other, English is assumed to be the first choice of language, especially on the Internet where most of the content is in English. In addition, some technical problems, such as keyboard layouts prevent people, whose native language is not English, from easily typing in other languages.
Nevertheless for voice communication, it is a totally different issue. First, there is a limited number of people around the world who can speak English as well as they read or write it simply because they only have a visual knowledge or practice of the English language. Second, keyboard limitations are not an issue over a telephone. Therefore, it cannot always be assumed that the first choice of language for communicating with another person is the English language.
As a result, in the VoIP world, there is a need to select a “best” language to use when two parties, who never communicated with each other before, to engage in a conversation. Since this system requires input (selection of languages) and output (visual output of “best” language to use), it can only be used on voice calls where there is an external data channel and user input/output. VoIP calls are a natural candidate for providing a solution, but any other kind of calls where data input/output are possible may apply.
Thus, it is well known that VoIP is an effective way of allowing people around the world to communicate. However, when two or more people want to communicate over VoIP and English is not their native language or preferred language of communication, there is not a way for such people to select a desired or “best” language of communication over VoIP. Therefore, it is desired to establish a method in which users around the world are capable of selecting a “best” language to use over VoIP.